


Boyfriends, birthdays and broken bones

by SunshineScorpius



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Birthdays, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Mild Injuries, Not Beta Read, Parties, We Die Like Men, albus is a little shit, cursed child non compliant, learning to be accepted, scorpius is an anxious cinnamon roll, talk of anxiety, they're in love, this family is huge wtf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-19 09:05:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18133736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunshineScorpius/pseuds/SunshineScorpius
Summary: Scorpius is nervous to attend Albus' birthday party with the new title of 'boyfriend'. They go muggle laser questing, hang at at the burrow and eat to their hearts content, play a friendly game of Quidditch that goes awry and all the time Scorpius tries his best to be accepted into the family because he finds that may be the best present he can give to Albus.





	Boyfriends, birthdays and broken bones

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently I can't write anything about my poor baby Scorpius without at least one panic attack (my headcannon is getting too strong, someone stop me) so here's your trigger warning. It's not big or graphic or anything, but it is there.  
> But mostly fluff! Enjoy!!

It was fair to say that Scorpius Malfoy was fairly nervous. It was his first outing with Albus’ family since the discovery of their secret relationship. Albus’ family had never particularly liked him all that much. He was a Malfoy and therefore an instant threat to Albus. In their fourth year, Mr. Potter had actually forced Albus and Scorpius apart, which, naturally, only brought them closer. It was during that time they both realised their feelings – distance makes the heart grow fonder, after all. However, they were two boys terrified of losing the friendship they had, and it took them a year to confess that love, so the relationship was still quite new to them both. They had been dating for seven months.

James found out first – he found them snogging in an empty classroom during his prefect rounds. He pulled Scorpius from Albus so hard that he hit his head off the wall he’d been slammed against. He then continued to accuse Scorpius of using the Imperius curse on Albus, which led to an angry duel between the two brothers whilst Scorpius cried not only from the accusation but also the pain in his head. It wasn’t until James stormed off angrily and Albus came to comfort Scorpius that he realised his head was bleeding which then led to a trip to the hospital wing. That was when James came to apologise, but it was half-hearted and clearly due to a rant he received off Lily – the youngest Potter and the only one (apart from Albus, of course) who seemed to like him.

And that was just his immediate family. His cousin Rose was never fond of him, believing the ridiculous rumours of his heritage (that he was the son of Lord Voldemort, a complete load of bullshit. Had they not seen him? Scorpius looked more like his father than Albus looked like his). Though, it was because of Scorpius’ (stupid) crush on her during their third year that made her dislike him most, even though he had fully grown out of that. He didn’t even like girls anymore!

Draco didn’t like the idea of Scorpius going out with the Potters’ and Weasley’s either, and had taken much convincing, which mainly involved Scorpius jumping up and down in front of him begging over and over whilst he read the paper and sipped his morning coffee. It came down to Scorpius bursting into tears because _dad, you never let me do anything. Please, just this once, I won’t ask anything of you again!_ That was when his dad let out a sigh and mumbled an agreement to let him go. He’d let him, but he wouldn’t be happy about it.

That was now how Scorpius found himself in his fathers’ car sitting outside the Potters’ house, Albus’ birthday present resting on his lap. They had been sat there for five minutes, Draco waiting for Scorpius to get out the car, so he could travel into Muggle London for some shopping. But, Scorpius was far too nervous to move. He’d never been to the Potters’ house before, let alone go out with them for Albus’ birthday. The only reason he was so eager to go was because it was Albus’ birthday, he wouldn’t miss that for the world.

“What was it you’re doing again?” Draco asked, for the hundredth time since they got into the car.

“Some muggle thing called Laser Quest, I don’t know. Apparently, you shoot people with lasers and build points, then we’re going to the burrow,” Scorpius said, waving off the question with the same answer he’d been giving every time his father asked. He was staring out the window looking up at the house. It wasn’t big, it was quite small – no, cosy. It was big enough for the five Potters’, and it looked homely, even from the outside. It was nothing like the Manor, which was far too daunting and big for two people, from the outside and the inside.

“Are you going to get out of the car at some point?” His father now asked with a hint of teasing.

“Yeah, just, give me a moment,” Scorpius replied, finally breaking his eyes from the house to look at his father.

“I’ve given you five. You’re nervous, aren’t you?” Scorpius nodded. “Look, if they say anything or hurt you in anyway, just text me and I’ll come and get you straight away,” his father promised, and Scorpius nodded. Just then, there was a knocking on the window. Scorpius jumped, turning to see Albus peering in from the other side, a confused expression contorting his face. Scorpius wound down the window.

“Is there a reason you’ve been sitting in the car for the past five minutes instead of coming in?” He asked teasingly.

“Nope, no reason, bye dad!” He leaned over and kissed his dad on the cheek before getting out the car. His father was gone as soon as the door slammed behind him, eager to get away from the Potters’ house.

Albus and Scorpius stared at each other for a moment, wide smiles on their faces. They hadn’t seen each other for three weeks since the start of summer. Scorpius leaned down and pecked Albus on lips, knowing he wouldn’t have the chance when they were inside the house.

“Happy birthday,” he beamed, shoving the present into Albus’ hands.

“Thank you, love,” he beamed back, grabbing Scorpius’ hand and pulling him towards him. He connected their lips in a chaste kiss, putting everything he had into it. Scorpius melted into him, wrapping his arms around Albus’ waist to pull him closer. Their lips danced together, their bodies melting into each other until they became one being, lost in a moment of passion and serenity. If someone were to ask Scorpius what his favourite moment was, he would say it was right now, lost in Albus.

“Albus!” The sound of his mothers’ voice tore the two of the apart, Scorpius jumping so far that there was an easy six-foot distance between them now. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard his mother giggle. “Come inside please,” she asked.

“O-Okay,” Albus spluttered out, grabbing Scorpius’ hand and pulling him towards the house. The two flustered boys snuck in under Ginny Potters’ arm and dangerous glare. It made Scorpius feel two-feet tall. Albus dragged him up to his room, the faint sound of Ginny telling him to keep his door open trailing behind them.

Once in there, Albus disobeyed the rules and closed the door, shutting them off from the rest of the house. Scorpius went to protest, but Albus’ lips were on his cutting him off. Scorpius was so shocked at the sudden attack that he stumbled backwards till his back hit the door, quickly recovering and grabbing Albus back with just as much passion.

“I missed you,” Albus breathed when he finally pulled away. He pulled a stunned Scorpius away from the door, opening it to please his mother should she come snooping, and led him over to the bed. They sat cross-legged opposite each other, knees unnecessarily touching.

“I missed you more,” Scorpius teased, quickly pecking his lips and pulling away, knowing they’d get carried away and not wanting to be caught by any of his family members. “Open it, birthday boy!” He bounced up and down in his seat, growing increasingly excited. Scorpius had been stressing over what to get him for his birthday, it was their first gift-exchange as a couple, it had to be great! His dad didn’t share the same enthusiasm, but let himself be dragged to Diagon Alley anyway, unable to say no to his son.

Albus looked down at the gift, hesitant fingers hovering above the wrapping. He looked back at Scorpius, seeing nothing but wonderment in his eyes which gave him the confidence to open it. Scorpius watched as Albus tore away the wrapping paper to reveal a box. He sent Scorpius a quizzical look before opening the box. They both leaned over to peer inside, even though Scorpius knew exactly what was in there.

“What is all this?” Albus asked, picking up a ball full of smoke that disappeared at his touch.

“You like to fix things, right? You fixed my music box last year and you always go on about how you love the challenge. So, I found this antique shop in Diagon Alley that sold wizard artefacts, however most of them are broken, but not to the point where they are unfixable. That,” he pointed to the ball in Albus’ hand, “is a Remembrall, and there’s a broken time turner, a broken wireless, a broken snitch and so many more,” he sat back in his seat, suddenly nervous following his rant trying to gauge Albus’ reaction. “Do you like it?” He asked, hesitantly.

Albus was fumbling through all the items in the box, but when he heard the doubt in Scorpius’ voice, he instantly looked up, green eyes full of wonderment and smiled the biggest smile Scorpius had ever seen him do.

“I love it, all of it! How did you- this is going to be so fun. You’re going to have to help me, I need your magic skills,” he put the box to the side carefully and wrapped his arms around Scorpius in a hug.

“Awh, isn’t that sweet?” The drawling voice of James Potter caused the boys to slowly break their embrace. Albus sent a deadly look to his brother.

“Piss off, James,” Albus spat. James laughed, taking a sip of the tea he was holding in his hand.

“The cousins are here, which means we should be off,” he said, stalking out of the room and down the stairs with all the grace of James Potter. Scorpius shrunk into himself, suddenly nervous of seeing – and meeting – all of Albus’ cousins. Noise was already filling the house as it filled up with various Weasley’s and the odd Lovegood.

The noise travelled upstairs, wrapping itself around Scorpius’ stomach making him feel nauseas. Albus didn’t seem to sense his nervousness and grabbed Scorpius’ hand to pull him off the bed. When Scorpius didn’t move with him, Albus stopped to turn and question him. Scorpius’ eyes were locked on the door, his heartbeat the only thing louder than the group of mindless, droning chatter downstairs.

“Scor?” Albus asked. Scorpius broke his eyes from the door to meet Albus’ worried look. He felt a sense of calm wash over him, an effect that only Albus’ piercing emerald eyes had on him. Albus squeezed his hand, prompting Scorpius to tell him what he was thinking.

“I feel sick,” he said and Albus sighed and sat on the bed next to him.

“You’re nervous to meet them, aren’t you?” Scorpius nodded. Albus wrapped him in a hug. “I promise they aren’t that scary, but I’ll be holding your hand the entire time, promise,” he whispered into his ear, easing Scorpius’ nerves further. Scorpius nodded against him, burying his head into his neck to take in his scent.

“Okay,” Scorpius said, pulling away and forcing himself to stand. “Let’s do this.”

“You sure?”

“Let’s just go before I change my mind,” he chuckled and Albus nodded. He grabbed Scorpius’ hand and led him out the door and down the stairs.

The droning chatter became louder, causing a sensory overload in Scorpius’ brain. The thing was, Scorpius was used to a constant voice inside his head, but it was usually his own voice and there was only ever one. He was used to that voice running thoughts around his head, ones he could barely keep up with, but mostly it was a comfort. Sometimes it became overwhelming, but it would never be as overwhelming as this moment.

Thousands of voices were flying in one ear and out the other, never staying long enough for Scorpius to pick up on a coherent conversation. He latched himself onto Albus’ arm, fingers digging around the other boys forearm, serving as the only bit of comfort as he tried to calm his racing heart. Sensing his discomfort, Albus moved closer until they moved as a single organism.

“There’s the birthday boy,” Ron cheered, which followed many cheers. Then, it seemed the whole of Albus’ extended family wanted to talk to him and wish him a happy birthday and ask him what he got. Being surrounded by so many similar faces, bunches of red hair and freckles, was overwhelming. Not many of them paid attention to him, most sending him wary glances before turning their attention back to Albus. The only two standing out from the crowd was the Scamander twins with their white-blond hair.

“I can’t breathe, I need to go outside a moment,” Scorpius whispered into Albus’ ear, who turned quickly to share a glance with him. His eyes asked if he was okay and Scorpius nodded before detangling himself from him and worming his way through the crowd and out to the back garden, where the fresh air hit him.

He stood shaking – and not because it was cold – but because of the nerves currently fuelling his bones. He took slow and deep breaths, the fresh air an uplifting change from the stuffy, warm air inside the house.

“Overwhelming isn’t it?” The voice of Harry Potter startled him from his thoughts. He jumped and turned to meet the older man. Scorpius had always been wary of him, especially since he split him and Albus up, but in this moment, he didn’t seem as threatening. Scorpius nodded at his question. “I remember the first time I met all of Ron’s family and back then there weren’t nearly as many.”

“I’m sure they all loved you anyway, and were not scared of you,” he didn’t mean to say it. He didn’t mean to admit his anxieties to the man who had been the cause of them. He had always known that his fathers’ name would mean that people would approach him with caution. The worst thing about it was that Scorpius couldn’t have been more different from his father, but he never got the chance to prove it because people were so quick to judge. Even Harry Potter himself, apparently.

It was only Albus who saw him for who he really was. It was only Albus who allowed him to be his true self. It was only Albus who didn’t judge him on his name and gave him the opportunity to prove who he was. The day he sat with him on the train nearly six years ago was the first time Scorpius felt truly safe in the hands of someone that wasn’t his mother or father. Many had walked into his carriage and ridiculed him, hexed him, spat at him, but not Albus. Albus was kind and caring and proved to still be that six years later.

The son of the Chosen One and the son of an ex-death-eater. No one saw it coming. People still get shocked when they see them, or when their names end up in the papers.

Harry Potter thought he taught his son his prejudices well enough so Albus would never want to associate with the Malfoys. The thing he never realised was that he drove his son away by drilling those beliefs into him. Albus felt the overwhelming pressure of living up to his father despite being so different to him, Scorpius felt the overwhelming desire to dissociate himself with the name of Malfoy. They found that accomplishing that came with being friends, and later boyfriends. They decided together that first day on the train that they would face the world together, that they would change opinions together, that together they were stronger than they were apart.

No one saw it coming. And that’s what made it all the more effective.

“I don’t think any of them are scared of you, Scorpius,” Harry replied. Scorpius thought that must have been the first time he referred to him by his first name rather than his last.

“You can think that, Mr. Potter, but you’d be naïve in doing so,” Scorpius should really stop talking. He was building himself a bigger hole that the Potters’ would soon throw him down to keep him away from Albus. However, when he looked at Harry, he had a smile on his face.

“I think you may be right,” Scorpius tried not to seem taken aback, but he feared he failed. “Come on, we should be going,” he said and disappeared inside.

Scorpius waited a moment before following him inside, seeking Albus out and immediately finding his black hair in a sea of orange. He wormed his way back to him, attaching him to his side again. Albus smiled at him when he returned, and Scorpius smiled back.

The next thing that happened was all the children were being escorted to the cars outside. As they were going somewhere muggle, they would have to travel the muggle way. Harry drove one car with Ginny, Albus, Scorpius and Lily. Ron followed behind with Hermione, Rose and Hugo, as well as James as he failed to fit in the Potters’ car. Behind them was George driving Fred, Roxanne, Victoire and Teddy. Behind them Bill was driving Dominque, Louis, Molly and Lucy. It was only the kids who were taking part in laser quest, but the Adults had to be there to chaperone and make sure they got their safe.

When they finally pulled up outside the Laser Quest venue, Scorpius pulled a confused face, biting down hard on his bottom lip.

“This is it? It looks like an abandoned building,” he mumbled, looking back at Albus with the same expression: eyes wide and lips locked between his teeth. Albus rubbed his thumb over Scorpius’ lips, breaking them apart from his teeth.

“Stop doing that, you know it makes you bruise,” he whispered, knowing the conversation could be heard but still trying to keep it between the two of them. Scorpius softened slightly.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. Albus smiled at him, before gesturing him out the car to follow Lily.

They gathered in a crowd, Albus and Scorpius standing to the edge, in front of the adults. They must have looked like a strange group of people, a bunch of red-heads, a couple of blondes’ – three of those with the whitest blond hair ever seen on any human – and the odd black or brown hair. Most looked related, then some looked nothing alike at all.

“Okay, for a fair game, I’m asking you all to hand in your wands,” Harry said as he and the other adults held their hands out. Groans were elicited from the older members of the family who were old enough to perform magic outside of school. Albus and Scorpius would still have one more year to go. Begrudgingly, all the younger ones handed their wands over. “Good, now let’s go,” they all cheered and followed the adults inside.

Scorpius clung to Albus’ side until they were called in for their game to start. They were led into a room where the rules were explained – no running, no swearing, no screaming – and were given their vests and laser guns. Because Albus was Albus, he helped Scorpius into his, even though he was perfectly capable of doing it himself. He finished with a peck and a cheeky grin, which caused Scorpius to smile and blush uncontrollably.

“Are we going in teams?” Teddy asked, addressing the group. Scorpius found it quite strange that he was in the same room as his cousin, who basically refused to talk to him because Teddy – just like everybody else – was not fond of his father.

“Nah, every man for themselves,” Victoire announced, pointing her gun at Teddy and shooting, even though they hadn’t been turned on yet.

“Vicky, I’m hurt,” he said, placing a hand over where she shot. She giggled and tip-toed to peck him on the lips. It was then that Scorpius looked away.

“Okay, guys, you have thirty minutes, then a ten-minute break and you’ll go back in for your second game,” said the worker, who gestured to the closed door. They waited for a claxon and the door opened, the group running inside and splitting off in different directions. Once they were all in, a timer counted down till the game was to start. Albus winked at Scorpius before running off, leaving him alone.

Unsure of where to go in the dimmed lighting, Scorpius turned in the opposite direction of Albus, stealthily walking on silent feet. The game started, Scorpius’ gun vibrating in his hands. Deciding it best to find a hiding space, Scorpius walked throughout the room, looking out for any of Albus’ family members. He found it particularly unfair that his hair started glowing blue and very noticeable in the neon lighting.

He ended up shooting at a few people on his mission to find a hiding space, but they usually got to him first. He eventually found a spot, just enough for him to hide but also to shoot people if they come at him first. From his vantage point, he could shoot those running around the floor without them noticing, but his aim was poor, so he never often got them. Their look of confusion was worth it when he did though.

Despite the rules, the Weasley’s, Potters’ and Scamanders’ were screaming, shouting, swearing and running. Scorpius was pretty sure he was the only one following the rules. He saw James coming towards him, so he his behind a pillar with his gun pointed at him. He shot when James came into view.

“Bastard, who the fuck?” He shouted, spinning in his spot looking for the one who shot him. Scorpius hid further. Giving up, James ran off for fear of being shot again.

“Has anyone seen Malfoy?” He heard someone shout – Louis, he thinks. Scorpius smiled to himself, knowing he was getting people but not being shot himself.

“Not since the beginning,” it was Lily who shouted back, though they seemed quite a distance apart. “Though he did shoot me earlier,” Scorpius smirked.

“Yeah, the bastard just got me too,” James replied.

Scorpius peered out his hiding spot, looking for someone else to shoot. He saw Albus coming towards him and he quickly hid. Albus was jogging slightly, looking adorably flustered. Scorpius weren’t sure on the rules of shooting your boyfriend, so he decided staying back would be the best option.

“Scor?” Albus asked. Dammit, he caught him. Scorpius peered out of his hiding spot. Albus’ eyes lit up when he saw him, a giant smile contorting his features. “Hey, so you’ve been hiding?” Scorpius was chewing on his bottom lip.

“Yeah,” he replied, sheepishly. Albus dropped his gun so it pointed to the floor, and because he did, Scorpius did too.

“You know you look really hot,” Albus teased, stepping towards him. “But no where near flustered enough for a game of laser quest, want me to change that?” He teased, causing Scorpius to go bright red, the exact reaction he was looking for. Albus cornered him against the wall, pressing his body against Scorpius’ and connected their lips. Albus kissed him fiercely, running his free hand through his hair.

“That’s better,” he mumbled against Scorpius’ lips. Then smiled mischievously. He pulled the gun up to Scorpius vest and shot. He shot Scorpius out of his loved-up daze as his gun vibrated beneath his fingers, notifying him on his unfortunate mishap. His vest became devoid of colours temporarily.

“You just shot me!” He exclaimed, mouth forming an ‘o’ shape, and eyes wild and accusing. Albus grinned and backed away, his gun held precariously in his hand.

“Every man for themselves,” he said, shooting off in the other direction before Scorpius’ vest came back on which allowed him to shoot. “Scorpius is up in the corner hiding!” He shouted throughout the room.

“Fuck,” Scorpius muttered to himself, breaking one the rules. He took a deep breath and ran out of his hiding spot before everyone came to bombard him. He shot a few people on his riot run, being shot himself more times than not. He had been building quite the score, which Albus had effectively ruined in a few moments.

It was fair to say that in those last few minutes of the game, Scorpius’ score dropped dramatically.

When the claxon sounded for the end of the game, he stormed out, discarding his vest and gun back on the rack and walked out to the waiting room with the rest of the adults, where they would wait for their second game.

“Scorpius,” Albus shouted after him. Scorpius plopped down in a chair. He wasn’t annoyed at all, no he was just planning his revenge. Though, he would let Albus think we was annoyed.

“What’s wrong with him?” James asked as they all made their way over.

“I think he’s mad that I shot him,” Albus said, trying hard to keep the amusement from his tone. He failed, Scorpius could see right through him.

“And then gave up my position!” Scorpius retorted, sending daggers Albus’ way. He burst out into laughter, which made Scorpius want to be annoyed with him. He huffed and sat back in his chair, folding his arms.

“All is fair in love and war, honey.”

“You betrayed me, _honey,_ ” he shot the name back as an insult. Albus grinned.

“Is this your first lovers tiff?” Lily asked, grinning and sitting beside Scorpius. “Because if we get to pick sides, then I choose Scorpius,” she announced, lacing her fingers through his. Scorpius’ annoyed façade dropped instantly, and he sent a genuine toothy smile her way. She winked at him.

“I’m your brother!” Albus retorted.

“Yeah, but that was a dick move,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“The worst part is how he did it,” Scorpius mumbled, shooting Albus daggers whilst biting his lower lip.

“Stop that!” Albus protested, again running his fingers over Scorpius’ lips. “See, it’s bruised now,” Scorpius had to fight back the urge to bite his lip again, feeling guilty for hurting Albus. Albus knew that Scorpius only ever bit his lip when feeling nervous, guilty, annoyed or stressed, it was a self-destructive behaviour. He would bite down until the feeling went away, or until they were too bruised or bleeding for the feelings to have dissipated that way. Scorpius knew he worried Albus whenever he did it, and tried his hardest to stop the habit, it wasn’t easy though.

“I’m sorry,” he said, running his teeth over his lips before remembering he’s not supposed to be doing that. “It’s a bad habit, I’m sorry.” Albus moved from the chair opposite him to sit next to him.

“Are you okay? You’re not really annoyed, are you?”

“No, I’m not. I’m planning my revenge though,” he winked and Albus smiled.

“Good,” he pecked his lips.

The worker came back to tell them the second game was ready for them.

The second game passed significantly faster than the first. Scorpius hadn’t come up with a decent revenge plan to get back at his boyfriend, so he settled on running around to shoot him as many times as possible. Unfortunately, this led to coming face-to-face a lot and Albus shooting him more times than Scorpius shooting Albus. This, along with being shot multiple times by the rest of his family as they hadn’t much a chance in the first game, meant Scorpius came in pretty drastically last.

They were handed the score sheets for both games at the end of the second one. Scorpius had come fifth in the first game, not a bad score considering he got marmalised in the last five minutes, but the second game he came in dead last. Even Hugo, who had come last in the first game, had beaten him by fifty points.

It was just a game, he knew it was just a game. But, he still felt utterly defeated.

“Well, at least we know now that you’re not good at _everything_ ,” Albus teased as they climbed back into the cars. This time they were heading to the burrow, where Grandma Molly was hosting a feast fit for a king. Scorpius had only heard in passing of the great meals and fun times held at the burrow, he was especially excited to finally experience one.

“It’s just a skill I need to learn, is all,” Scorpius responded. He didn’t like not being good at something. Most things came naturally to him, like magic and intelligence – he had to work for them sure, but even if he didn’t work as hard, he’d still pass easily.

“Don’t stress yourself out over not being good at Laser Quest,” he nudged Scorpius’ shoulder.

“I was good, I had tactics and a plan, and you ruined it,” he reminded. Lily snorted beside him.

“Are you still mad about that?”

“I told you, I’m not mad. I just can’t believe you would betray your own boyfriend like that,” Scorpius narrowed his eyes and pouted his lips at Albus. Albus' face grew into a shit-eating grin – much like the one he’d been wearing all day, Scorpius was happy he was happy. Albus was rarely happy when it came to his family, he always felt like a burden, like the odd one out. For him to really be happy around his family meant that he was having a good day. Scorpius was glad he could finally appreciate that.

Albus kissed his pouted lips quickly. Scorpius – apparently now unable to control his own facial features – broke his icy glare for a wide grin.

They talked mostly of the games throughout the journey to the burrow. Albus held Scorpius’ hand in his lap and talked more than Scorpius had ever heard him talk in one go. He was positively ranting about the great day he’d had so far. Harry and Ginny were smiling profusely in the front seats. Eventually, it led to him and Lily getting into a heated debate about something Scorpius wasn’t paying complete attention to. He knew it was nothing serious, their arguments never were. If it were James on the other hand, Scorpius would have his wand at the ready to break them up.

However, he couldn’t help but stare at Albus. The way his lips curved into an endearing grin, eyes alight with fire as he fought jokingly with his little sister. He was beautiful in a way Scorpius had never seen before. He was alight with an essence that he’d never been able to capture. He was Albus. He was Albus in every sense of the way Albus should be him. Loved and in love, and knowing he was loved and in love. It brought about an innocence that had been locked away from years of never feeling good enough. He was growing out of the shell he’d formed for himself, and he was radiant.

“You’re staring at me,” Albus stated, coming down from his hype and meeting eyes with Scorpius.

“You’re just beautiful,” he replied, a blush covering his cheeks. If it were possible, Albus’ smile widened.

They clambered out the car once they pulled up at the burrow, Lily abandoning them quickly to jump in the arms of her grandfather. Harry and Ginny greeted them too, other adults who hadn’t chaperoned at laser quest were also milling around, waiting for the cars that were trailing behind them. Albus grabbed Scorpius’ hand a led him over to his grandparents.

If there were two people in Albus’ life he was most nervous about meeting, it was Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur. Albus loved his grandparents. When he was a kid and his home life got too much, he would floo to his grandparents house where they would look after him and tell him stories. He had gotten his obsession with broken muggle and wizard artefacts from his grandfather, whom he often stayed with to help fix up whatever he’d found. If there were two people in this entire world that needed to approve of Scorpius, it was them.

That, of course, was easier said than done. Molly and Arthur had now had to suffer through two generations of awful Malfoys, attending school with his pretentious grandfather and watching their children attend school with his bully of a father. His family had caused the Weasley’s more trouble than a Hippogriff in a muggle train station. He had to prove to them that somehow, he was unlike his father and grandfather, that he loved Albus to the core, that he was worthy of owning their grandsons heart.

“Gran, Grandpa,” Albus greeted, temporarily letting go of Scorpius’ hand to embrace them in a hug at the same time. Scorpius fiddled with his hands to stop them from trembling, chewing his bottom lip between his teeth. They really were bruised at this point, but Scorpius couldn’t find himself to care. “This is Scorpius, my boyfriend,” he continued with a wide grin. Scorpius stopped chewing his lip and put on his best smile.

“Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr and Mrs Weasley,” he spoke in his usual enthusiastic tone. He held a hand out to them, which Mr. Weasley shook first before Mrs. Weasley pulled him in for a hug. It took him by complete surprise but found the gesture quite comforting.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too,” Mrs. Weasley said, squeezing Scorpius’ cheeks, causing a blush of red to spread across his cheeks. “We’ve heard so much about you from our Albie,” Scorpius smiled at the childhood nickname as Albus blushed.

“That we have, don’t think he ever shuts up about you,” Mr. Weasley now said, grinning down at his grandson, a hand on his shoulder.

“Grandpa, please,” Albus pleaded, which led to Mrs. Weasley squeezing his cheeks as well.

“All good I hope,” Scorpius responded, uncontrollably smiling now as he watched Albus interact with the grandparents he spoke about often.

“Of course, deary,” Mrs. Weasley said, again stroking her thumb over Scorpius’ cheeks. He wondered if they were always this friendly with strangers. “Merlin’s beard, do they not feed you over in Malfoy Manor?” She scolded. “You’re tiny,” Scorpius laughed. His mum used to say the same to him, even whilst feeding him sweets after dinner. He wasn’t ‘tiny’ per say, he was tall. Taller than Albus but had a skinnier frame. He was all too-long arms and gangly legs that never really fit anywhere. He was far too skinny for any of his features to appear graceful, maybe putting on a bit of weight would help him out there, but it’s not like he didn’t eat. He did, a lot.

“Father feeds me plenty, promise,” he replied.

“Yeah, all Scor does is eat! He’s constantly hungry and always eats sugar, that’s his mums fault, and just never puts the weight on. If I ate like he did, I’d be as big as an Erumpent,” Albus rambled whilst his parents chuckled along with him.

“And I’d still only have eyes for you,” Scorpius spoke in a sickeningly sweet tone, winking at Albus who rolled his eyes.

“Right, let’s inside shall we, we have some presents for the birthday boy,” Albus beamed and grabbed Scorpius’ hands, running inside like a five-year-old boy on Christmas rather than a sixteen-year-old on his birthday.

The next couple of hours were spent gorging themselves on sweet treats all baked by Mrs. Weasley, and enough turkey sandwiches till fill an amphitheatre, which meant there was always spares. Albus never left Scorpius’ side, making sure the other boy felt comfortable at all times whilst he made the rounds and introduced him to everyone. Most had been friendly enough, though sometimes Scorpius could tell that his presence warranted anxiety.

 _Don’t worry¸_ he wanted to tell them, _I’m much more frightened of you than you are of me._

He hated his fathers’ name sometimes. He loved his father more than anything, just hated the name.

A couple hours of forced smiles and anxious hellos finally came to an end when Harry Potter announced the beginning of the infamous Potter-Weasley Quidditch match. Usually Albus sits out of them, but as Scorpius wanted to play so badly, he decided to join. They evened up the teams, keeping Professional-Quidditch-player Ginny Potter and Professional-Quidditch-player-in-training James Potter on separate teams.

James had reluctantly taken Scorpius as the teams seeker, meaning Harry was Ginny’s seeker. Albus played keeper for James, whilst Lily and Teddy joined James in the chaser positions, leaving uncle George and Lucy as beaters. Ginny’s team consisted of herself, as well as Dominque and Louis for her chasers, Ron for keeper, and Fred Junior and Hugo for beaters. Everyone else sat out and happily watched.

They were ordered to hand their wands in at the beginning of the game because too many cheaters had manipulated the game in their favour in the past.

As the game commenced, Scorpius could hear Little Molly narrating the game for the remaining members of the family, who were all giggling at her comments. It was a makeshift field with makeshift goals, but somehow seemed big enough for the game. It was nothing compared to the Quidditch pitch he had at the Manor and a thought passed through his mind to invite them all to play there some time. The thought quickly passed when he thought of what his father would say.

Scorpius kept one eye out for the snitch and the other on Harry. He wasn’t the best Quidditch player in the world, but he was good enough to warrant a decent game, despite what James thought. He could barely keep up with the game, often forgetting who was on which team, not that it mattered to him much. He watched as Lily soared through the air, effectively swerving around her mum and aiming the quaffle into the makeshift goalpost, her uncle far from saving it. Below, Little Molly kept score.

His team were winning by forty-five points when Scorpius spotted the snitch. It flew directly passed his eye line, flying teasingly around his head before shooting off. Scorpius took off after it. He hadn’t been watching his surroundings as he flew, something his father told him was one of his worst habits. When Scorpius was focused, what was going on around him never mattered. But it should have.

If he had been looking around him, he would have seen Lily coming towards him at a speed way too fast to stop herself. He saw her at the last second when she shouted his name. In that moment, he felt too much like a deer in headlights, too frozen to do anything. She crashed into him, falling from her broom which clattered to the floor.

Scorpius managed to grab her wrist to keep her from falling when he heard the cracking of a bone following by an ear-crippling scream.

Her hand slipped from his and she began her descent to the floor. Without hesitation, Scorpius dove faster than she was falling and quickly swiped her up just before she hit the ground. He was too close for a graceful landing, and nearly toppled over her when touching down but somehow managed to keep his footing. He dropped to his knees.

“Lily? Are you okay?” Tears were falling down her face, but she wasn’t actively crying. It seems the shock of falling had prevented her from physically crying. The other players were touching down now, Harry and Ginny running over as fast as possible.

“Honey, are you okay?” Lily screamed suddenly when she caught sight of her wrist, the bone most definitely twisting the wrong way. Scorpius was crying now, too, mostly from the shock of it all. He tried to compose himself for Lily and held her tighter.

“She needs a pain potion a-and my - my wand, I need my wand,” he stuttered out to Harry, who had been the one to confiscate them all at the beginning of the match.

“What could you possibly need your wand for?” Harry asked, accusingly, like he was about to make her injury worse with a hex. Scorpius was taken aback for a moment. He may have been responsible for the collision, but he was also the one who saved her.

“To heal her, I can do it,” he replied, fiercely. Lily let out another wretched sob and Scorpius turned his attention to her. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I know it hurts but we’re going to fix it, I promise,” he used his free hand – the one that wasn’t propping her up in his lap – to stroke her hair gently away from her face.

Many people looked upon the scene gaping, as if they were shocked to see a Malfoy being so loving and caring. He would have felt insulted if it weren’t for the sobbing girl in his arms.

“Please, someone get her a pain potion,” he pleaded, and James nodded running off.

“And get Molly!” Harry shouted after him, still refusing to give Scorpius his wand.

“Molly popped out during the match, she’s not back yet,” Angelina shouted back, and Harry swore under his breath.

“Scorpius?” Lily said, her voice a broken sob. He looked away from the panicking adults back to Lily. It was only a broken wrist and a bit of shock, he wasn’t sure why they wouldn’t let him just fix it himself.

“Yeah?”

“It really hurts,” she sobbed against him, rubbing her tear-stained face against his t-shirt.

“Let me have a look,” he said. He adjusted how he was sitting, so Lily was lying against his legs that propped her up, so he could use both hands. She gently rested her broken wrist into his palm and he inspected it carefully, cautious to not cause her anymore pain.

“Scorpius, you get away from her, now,” Harry voice came at him sternly.

“Dad!” It was now Albus who had decided to speak up, weaving through the crowd to sit next to Lily and Scorpius. “Don’t be so rude, he’s trying to help!”

“Help? He’s the reason she’s on the floor in the first place,” Scorpius knew it was true, but he tried not to let the venom in his voice get to him.

James came running back with a pain potion and gave it to Lily, Albus propping her up in a way that Scorpius’ knee couldn’t. He was slightly amazed at the way her brothers’ came to her aid so quickly, it was incredibly sweet to watch. He’d never have anyone that would be like that for him. Scorpius’ heart ached for a family like Albus’.

“Please, Mr. Potter, I can heal her. Mrs. Weasley isn’t here, so it’s either a St. Mungos trip or I can just fix it up now,” Scorpius begged.

“That’s beyond N.E.W.T level magic, Scorpius, you’re barely out of your O.W.Ls and you’re a minor,” he reminded.

“Dad, the Minister for Magic is literally standing over there, I’m sure she could approve it. Also, Lily needs this,” James pleaded. Lily had stopped crying now the effects of the pain potion had settled in, though her face was still slightly contorted with pain.

“Dad, he can do it, I’ve seen him. Plus, he’s helped me plenty of times before,” Albus added now. Harry gave him a look to say _we’ll talk about why later._ Scorpius couldn’t help but think he’s somehow gotten the other boy in trouble.

“Dad, please,” Lily sobbed. Upon seeing his daughter beg, Harry gave up. He shot a look to Hermione who nodded, and then handed Scorpius his wand.

As promised, Scorpius fixed her wrist with a couple of healing incantations, followed by a bandage spell.

“Okay, now slightly move your wrist, if it hurts then stop,” Scorpius instructed, his voice soft and gentle. Lily obliged, rotating her wrist in a circular motion. The circles became wider as she adjusted to the bandage and she beamed at Scorpius before wrapping him in a hug.

“Thank you so much!” She exclaimed, and Scorpius happily embraced her back, sharing an exasperated but fond look with Albus. Lily pulled away, getting onto her feet and running over to her grandfather to explain everything that happened, Harry and Ginny trailing behind her. Scorpius fell back into a comfortable sitting position, letting out an exasperated sigh.

“That was pretty cool, Scorp,” James complimented, patting Scorpius on the back and smiling widely at him. He stalked off moment later, engaging straight away with Teddy.

“I love you, you’re amazing, did you know that?” Albus asked, pulling him in for a hug.

“I need to go get cleaned up,” Scorpius muttered against him. When Albus pulled away, he indicated to his now messy clothes covered in mud and Lily’s tears. “And take a breather because that was… intense,” he breathed, still not quite recovered from the shock himself. How Lily bounced back so quickly was beyond him.

“Sure, let’s go inside,” Albus helped him up and guided him into the burrow.

Scorpius used a quick cleaning spell to fix his clothes whilst Albus made them both a tea. Scorpius insisted he’d be fine, that he just needed a minute to collect himself and that Albus should go back outside with his family. But, Albus insisted, saying he needed a break from them himself. So, after Albus had made the tea they went and sat on the sofa together in the living room, away from the noise of the outside.

“Are you having a good day?” Scorpius asked as he curled into Albus’ lap.

“The best day. I’m really glad you could come,” Albus pressed a kiss onto Scorpius’ forehead, which made him nuzzle further into Albus, desperate to be as close to him as possible. It was the first time they’d been alone together since they were in Albus’ room, and that felt like forever ago; not a few hours.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he whispered back, content at just being in Albus’ arms. They sat mostly in silence, drinking tea and sharing tender kisses, getting themselves lost in each other.

It was Mrs. Weasley who brought them back to reality when she returned through the floo. She startled the boys, especially Scorpius who practically jumped out of Albus’ lap, which evoked a chuckle from both Molly and Albus.

“Everything okay, dears?” She asked as she shook the dust from her clothes.

“Yeah, grandma. Just Quidditch drama as usual, Lily broke her wrist, but Scorpius fixed it,” Albus explained. Mrs. Weasley took a startled step back as she looked at a sheepish Scorpius.

“That’s beyond N.E.W.T. level charms,” she explained her shock.

Scorpius shrugged, “I’ve been practicing, though you might want to check it over,” he replied, voice barely above a whisper.

“Nonsense, I’m sure it’s perfect, but I’ll check it over if it makes you feel better,” she replied, ruffling up his hair as she sauntered out to the back garden.

“We should probably get back out there,” Albus said now, tracing a thumb over Scorpius cheeks.

“You go, I’ll wash our mugs up and join you,” Scorpius replied, getting up from the sofa and grabbing the discarded mugs and tea set. Albus nodded, quickly pecking him on the lips before going out the back garden. Scorpius went into the kitchen to begin washing the tea set and mugs when he was interrupted by Harry.

“Where’d you learn to do all that?” He asked. Scorpius began washing up, trying to appear nonchalant. He was sure Harry wasn’t meant to be coming off as intimidating as he was. Maybe he wasn’t being intimidating at all, maybe this was just how it would be now because he was his boyfriends’ dad and they were always supposed to come off scarier.

“I taught myself, mostly,” he replied, sweetly. “Sometimes if mum spent weeks in the hospital then the nurses would teach me spells and give me potion instructions. I used to help dad brew her medication sometimes.”

“You want to be a healer?” He asked, and Scorpius nodded. He finished with the chores and finally turned to face Harry. He was leaning up against the fridge in a surprisingly chilled manner. “When did you decide that?” He was being softer now. That usually happened when Scorpius brought up his mum.

“When I was seven, I promised mum I’d cure her, but I obviously couldn’t. That never stopped the dream. I want to save as many people as possible, if only to stop people like me and my dad going through what we did.”

“That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself,” now, he was even sounding concerned. Scorpius shrugged.

“Diamonds are made under pressure,” was all he said, unable to take his eyes away from the older Potter.

“You seem to make Albus very happy,” he said suddenly after a short moment of silence. Scorpius pondered this for a moment. He knew he made Albus happy, they wouldn’t be together if they didn’t make each other happy. But, he wondered what it was that finally made the older Potter realise this. Scorpius had been making Albus happy for years.

Even when they were eleven and had only just met. Albus had been terrified of his parents’ reaction to his sorting and was quiet throughout the whole of dinner. Scorpius didn’t really know what to do – he’d never had a friend before, let alone have to comfort one. When they went back to the dorms, Albus shut himself off behind his curtains. When Scorpius heard the soft sobs coming from the other boys bed, he did the only thing he could think of doing. He walked over and clambered into the bed with him, closing the curtains behind him, and wrapped his entire body around Albus and held him till he stopped crying. Neither said a word and they didn’t need to. That night was the start of something way bigger than themselves. That was the first night they realised they needed each other, even if they didn’t know it yet.

“I think I do,” he responded. That seemed to be enough for Harry. He nodded at him, walking the short distance between them and clapped him on the shoulder. He then quickly walked out, as though the situation was way too awkward for him. Scorpius didn’t mind, that was approval in his eyes and he couldn’t think of a better present to give Albus for his birthday.

Scorpius wondered outside, staying back and leaning against the doorframe to watch Albus interact with his family. He started chasing Hugo and Lily round, the latter squealing so loud it hurt Scorpius’ ears even from this distance. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched the large family interact with each other. It was something Scorpius’ could never be apart of, something he’d always want but never truly fit into, no matter what happened between him and Albus in the future.

They may accept him into the family, but he feared he’d always feel on the outside looking in. Maybe that was how Albus felt quite often, though looking at him now, he fit in just fine. Sure, he was a little bit different to his red-headed cousins, but deep down he was a Weasley. Scorpius could only hope that one day he’d realise that his family love him unconditionally, despite all the incessant teasing.

Albus noticed him staring and smiled wildly at him. His hair was even messier than usual, sticking up in all kinds of places. His face was flushed red from the exercise. He ran over to Scorpius and grabbed his hand, pulling him back out to the family and forcing him into the game he’d been playing with Lily and Hugo. He could feel the eyes on them as they ran around wildly, and this time none of them were hostile or cautious, they were happy. They weren’t being cautious of him, they were laughing along with him.

Maybe, just maybe, he could get used to this.

Sure, his birthday present to Albus had been a good one, but maybe being accepted into his family was a better one.

**Author's Note:**

> If you loved it or hated it, let me know :) Kudos always accepted too!


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